Kyle grabbed his beer and headed down the hall to his bedroom. He was what most would call a spoilsport. The door slammed and we laughed. He would be gone for the rest of the evening, then. He didn't like being made fun of, especially if there was a girl in the room. Since the girl had been the one to shame him, it made it that much worse for him. He would be sulking in his room at that very moment, and I almost felt bad for the guy. He couldn't help that he hated losing, or maybe he could. Either way, it was not my problem.
“Sorry, I guess I sort of killed your game night, right?” She winked as she leaned back into the couch, taking a slow sip of the beer in her hand.
I laughed. “Yes, I guess you did. That's okay, though, a couple of guys playing video games for an entire evening is sort of lame, right?”
“Yeah, sort of.” She was still smiling, and I liked it.
“Let me shut this down and maybe we can find something to watch on TV.” I switched some cords on the back of the TV, returned to the couch, and started flicking through the stations. Natalie sat patiently waiting while she snacked on pretzels from the bowl Kyle had made up. She took a swig of her beer and I finally found a show that might keep us both happy. I leaned back into the couch and she moved over and snuggled against me.
“Well, even though you beat me badly yet again, I'm glad you're here.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. Her hair smelled like vanilla, and I took her scent in, enjoying her closeness.
“Me too.”
“I wanted to ask you, Natalie, if you would like to come to Thanksgiving dinner with me at my mom's house?”
There was a long pause, almost an awkward pause. “Is your whole family going to be there?”
“No, my brother and his girlfriend are going to my dad's. We usually split up over the holidays. My sister will be there, though.”
“That's right. You have a sister; why have you never talked about her before?”
“No reason, really, Natalie. We aren't the closest family. It's not a big deal, but the whole divorce thing took a toll on us all, and I just don't talk a lot about them.”
“Well, I'm looking forward to meeting her, then.”
“Great, so you will come?”
“Sure, on one condition, though.”
“What's that? Though I'm sure I will say yes to anything you have to say.”
She giggled. “I want you to come to my family dinner at Christmas.”
“Absolutely, sweetheart.”
She smiled then, and kissed me hard on the mouth.
Chapter Seven
Natalie
I was a super nervous wreck when it came time to go to Jet’s mother's for dinner. I was starting to care a great deal for him, far sooner than I had anticipa
ted, so it was really important to me that his family warm up to me. He liked me, but I worried that maybe they wouldn't like me. I wanted them to like me and accept me into the family. I wasn't sure what was going to happen for Jet and me in the future, but the fact that we were spending the holidays together was probably a really good sign of things to come.
We were driving to his mother’s house, and I was wearing a black long-sleeved dress that hugged my body just right, but that was still appropriate for a family dinner. Jet had gushed about my outfit when he saw me, and that pleased me immensely. We were holding hands as we drove there, and I felt happier at that moment than I had in a long time.
When we pulled up to the large colonial home, I got even more nervous than before. The house was enormous, and despite the divorce, it was obvious that Jet's mother was still very well taken care of. I was definitely not from the same world as they were, and I worried that I might be judged. It was a silly notion; I had seen them all at the fight and they seemed like really nice people, I was just letting nerves get the best of me.
When we got inside the house, it was warm and cozy, and the owner of the home had gone to great lengths to decorate for the holidays. The inside of the home looked like something you would see in the movies. I smiled at Jet as the family all met in the entryway to see us in. His sister, Karen, was beautiful, and looked exactly like his mother. Their whole family was beautiful, actually.
Then I saw something that shocked me. Off to the side stood Katie. She had a small smile on her face, and when Jet saw her, he went to her and hugged her, wishing her a Happy Thanksgiving. I was speechless at first, and didn't know what to say. Karen noticed my shock and stepped in, “That's Katie; she's been like family to us. Her parents are best friends with our mother, so they often come and spend the holidays with us. I think she also knows Jet from school.”
“Yes, I've met her before. I was just surprised to see her, that's all.”
I could not believe the terrible luck I had. Honestly, what were the chances of Katie showing up for the holidays? One in a zillion? And why hadn't Jet have told me that she was so close to the family, especially if she frequented these events often? He had made it seem like they were just friends, teammates involved in the same sport. I was truly appalled by the fact that she was at the same event that I was. It was supposed to be something special for Jet and me.
A sharp pang of jealousy coursed through me as they hugged, a hug that I felt just lingered a little too long. I felt betrayed that Jet had invited me there without mentioning the possibility that Katie would be there. He must have known how I felt about the girl, because of the night at the club. Why would he bring me here when she was here? Was he really so insensitive? I teared up immediately, though I tried to stop it from happening. It took all my self-control to prevent those tears from spilling down my cheeks. I did not want to cry or make a scene at dinner. I wanted the family to like me, not to think I was a hysterical mess. I needed to control my emotions and just get through the night without strangling either Jet or Katie.